Who Said?
by Lady J
Summary: Kakashi Fic: A former ANBU girl who left the Leaf Village 5 years ago is back to help with the war, but can she escape from the terrible mistake she had made in the past?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:**

Other than Makiko Haki (an original character), none of the characters in this story belong to me. 

This fanfic is written after I've read Ch.160. I tried to correspond with the actual story up to that point, so please forgive me if this fanfic contradicts with anything that happens after Ch.160. This story takes place some time after Sasuke left to chase after Itachi, when Kakashi is still unconscious. 

**[revision notes]**: I made some changes to dialogs and fixed some grammars/typos. But overall, it's the same story. I have another story of Kakashi & girl in mind, not sure when I'll start though.

**CHAPTER 1**

I look up at the once tall main gate of the Leaf Village. It looks like it'll collapse any minute now. The village has just been attacked by Orochimaru and the Sand Village. As I enter the village, the familiar town I once knew of is now nothing but ruins. What puts a smile on my face, however, is the sight of villagers rebuilding their home enthusiastically. The invaders might have destroyed the village, but they can never extinguish the villagers' love for it. 

I suppose I rushed back for nothing. The war has already ended. When I first heard that the Leaf Village was under attack, I packed immediately, hoping that I could … well, not help for sure. I probably couldn't have done much help anyway. I probably would've been a burden to the other ninjas, just like five years ago. Ha. Perhaps I was meant to arrive late. 

I sit down at a teahouse and order my favourite Konoha Tea. This special kind of tealeaves exists only in this village. As I am waiting, I pick up an old newspaper someone left behind on the table. The headline reads: "Final Chuunin Exam Begins Today". As I read on, I am surprised that several rookies made it to the final exam. It must've been a great show. 

"First match: Uzumaki Naruto v.s. Hyuga Neji," I read to myself. Uzumaki Naruto?! The fox baby with the seal? He's taking the Chunnin Exam already? How old is that kid? Let's see. The disaster took place when I was twelve. Now, I'm twenty-four. So, he's twelve years old already? Time sure files. 

"Here's your tea, miss," the waitress brings the hot tea to the table. The smell of it alone makes me remember so much of this village. 

"Thank you," I take a small sip from the cup. This familiar taste hasn't reached my tongue for years. 

Tracing my finger down the chart with information on all the candidates, it reaches Naruto's name. I trace my finger across the row – it reads _Leaf Village _under the origin column. As my finger moves to the next column, I see a name that causes my heart to skip a beat– _Hatake Kakashi_, Naruto's sensei. 

It hurts. It hurts as all the memories from the past flood my mind. I shouldn't have come back. Wasn't that the reason that I left this place five years ago? To forget everything? To escape from my guilt? 

_"Kakashi, NOO!!!" _

_He hesitated. _

_"Do not break the formation!!" _

_He came anyway. He didn't listen to me. _

_SLAASH~~~ _

_Someone screamed. In pain._

_Kakashi turned his head, eyes wide. _

_ I yelled something. _

_Tears filled my eyes. I couldn't see anymore. It was all red. _

"Miss? Are you alright?" I look up at the waitress. I didn't realize that I had my face buried in my hands. 

"Yes," I assure her with a smile, wiping my tears with the back of my hand. "Don't worry." 

Out of the corner of my eyes, something catches my attention. Three Jounins are sitting at the table against the far wall of the teahouse. I recognize two of them: Thick-Brows and Smokey. Otherwise known as Gai and Asuma – people from my past. They are accompanied by a red-eyed female ninja, which I assume is Smokey's girlfriend.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

"I wonder when Kakashi will wake up," says the girl.

"I'm more worried about Sasuke," Gai replies.

"And Naruto," Asuma adds, twisting a burned-out cigarette in the ashtray.

"Right, even though Jiraiya-sama is with him, he could totally lose it if his opponent's a beauty," comments Gai. With the million-dollar smile, he points his thumb at his face, "I think I'll go after them. They need a beautiful angel to protect them. You two take good care of Kakashi." He then disappears in a puff of smoke.

"Beautiful angel?" the girl turns to Asuma, hoping to get for an explanation. Instead, he just shrugs in return.

Kakashi is in coma?!?! I wonder how badly he's injured. Is he going to live? If you are so concerned, why don't you go visit him? Shut up, the purpose of coming back is not for him. Then what's the purpose? To help protect the village. The war's ended though. Geez, why am I arguing with myself?

I throw a glance at their table. They are leaving. I debate with myself a little longer and decide to follow them after I left some tips on the table. We make a left turn, then a right, then another right turn to a small alley, and I lost track of them. Once an ANBU, now a crappy ninja.

I feel something sharp on my neck – a kunai. "Who are you?" asks a voice. Damn. I lowered my guard. I grab the arm quickly and make a twist. Her eyes widens when she senses me behind her in a flash. Not giving her an opportunity to react, I kick her against the brick wall. The collision makes a big crack on the wall. There is someone else. I spin around, and see a kick coming. I block. Once. Twice. And I fall. "ARG~!!" I let out a grunt.

"Makiko?"

I look up, rubbing my arm where it was kicked. It was Asuma.

"Your skills have dulled," he comments with a victorious smile. "You used to be able to beat up at least three Jounins on your own."

Does this guy annoy me or what. "Ya, and you weren't able to beat up anyone else other than Thick-Brows," I retaliate verbally. Asuma frowns.

"Why were you following us?" Asuma asks as he helps me up.

"I … came back to help out, not knowing that the war's already over," I look away, avoiding his eyes. "I was about to leave. But then I saw you guys at the teahouse earlier...so I decided to check things out." I try hard to make up an excuse for myself.

"I see. You overheard our conversation and you wanna check Kakashi out," he says as-a-matter-of-factly. Asshole. I glare at him for a second and my glance shifts again. He smiles, "You could've just asked. He's dying to see you. Liiterally." I throw him an evil stare. That wasn't funny at all.

"You alright, Kurenai?" Asuma asks the red-eyed ninja as she stands back up.

"Ya, I'm fine," she then looks at me. "Who is she?"

"She's Ka-"

"I'm just an old friend," I interrupt before Asuma had a chance to say that name. "My name's Haki Makiko. Nice to meet you."


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

"I see that your left arm has been cured," Asuma lights a cigarette as we head toward Kakashi's place. 

"Yes," I lay my right hand on my left bicep, where the scar is. "I met Tsunade-sama after I left the village. She took care of my arm." 

"She's that genius doctor that can cure anything, isn't she?" Kurenai asks. I nod in reply. 

"She's a very nice lady...most of the time. It'd be even better if she could only stop gambling like there's no tomorrow," I pause, as an uneasy silence follows. I finally ask the question that I've been trying to ask since I ran into them. "What happened to Kakashi?" 

"We encountered Itachi," he blew out a ring of smoke. I stop my pace abruptly, knowing how serious this means. Uchiha Itachi, one of the final two Uchihas left. The kid that wiped out his entire clan. What kind of child would be able to do something like that? I cannot imagine how serious Kakashi's wound is now that I've learned the opponent was Itachi. Asuma continues, "We fought. But we couldn't do much. It was a Sharingan-Sharingan fight." 

"Sha-rin-gan-" I repeat each syllable slowly, staring at the ground. "The Sharingan he got…from that time?" 

Asuma steals a glance of me as he inhales some nicotine. He isn't going to answer, because he knows that it was a rhetorical question. Kurenai doesn't understand, but she keeps quiet. 

"How badly injured is he?" I continue staring at the ground. 

"He wasn't physically, but mentally attacked," Kurenai explains. I look at her, waiting for her to continue, but all she says is, "He'll live." 

When we've finally reached Kakashi's place. I hesitate at the door. "You are not gonna stop here now, are you?" Asuma blows out a triple ring. I grab the cigarette and throw it on the ground before stepping on it like I am trying to kill bug. "You don't have to take it out on me," he says, reaching for another cigarette from his pocket. 

"Excuse me? Can you not smoke for once, Smokey? We are visiting a patient," I snap, knowing that his accusation is true. He apologizes anyway as he puts the cigarette away. I lay my hand on the doorknob and turn it slowly. After taking a deep breath, I open it. Inside the room, Kakashi is lying in a bed on the floor. A mix feeling of fear and love sears through my body. I promptly rush to his side, and reach out to his masked face, but withdraw quickly. 

If I touch him, I won't ever be able to let go. I grab onto my shirt tightly to keep my hands off him (A/N: haha). He still looks so good, except that I can only see one of his eyes now. His silver hair is as beautiful as it has always been. But he looks exhausted. I try hard to hold back my tears, but fail. 

"Don't worry, Makiko," Kurenai puts a hand on my shoulder. "He'll be fine." 

_"Don't worry about me!!" _

_He came nevertheless. _

_SLAASH~~~ _

_Someone screamed painfully._

_Kakashi turned his head, eyes wide. _

_I yelled something. _

_Tears filled my eyes. I couldn't see anymore. It was all red. _

_I heard another scream. It was Kakashi's this time. _

_And another. Mine. _

_One comrade, I killed. _

_Another comrade, I blinded. _

_More than just an arm, I lost. _

_This wouldn't have happened…Obito wouldn't have died...The mission wouldn't have failed…Only if he had left me alone, along with my puddle of blood. Only if he stayed put. Only if he didn't try to save me. Only if I wasn't there. Only if I never existed. _


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

I blink. All I see is darkness. I'm lying down. I blink again. Someone is lying next to me. I squint to see the face. An eye staring back at me. Just one. A familiar one. Then I realize. I jump up and leave, but I didn't notice that he is holding onto my hand. I try to shake it off, but I have no strength. My inner self wants him to hold on, but my consciousness knows better.

"Don't," he begs. "Don't leave me again."

I look at him. All these tears in my eyes only worsen my sight in the dark, but his voice tells that he's also in tears.

"I ...can't! ...I can't face you," I say as I look away. "I'll only be a burden to you."

"I don't give a shit if you are!" He grips onto my hand tighter, although he is still weak. His voice then softens. "And you are not," he pauses. "Please. Don't do this again."

"Have you forgotten," I looked straight at him and ask the man I used to love-the man I still love, "what a terrible horrible unforgivable thing I have done?"

"It wasn't your fault," he tells me. He has repeated this same phrase over and over again, ever since that incident. I'm immune to it already.

"Stop trying to comfort me! It was!" Streams of tears run down my cheeks, and my knees fall. "It was… I made a mistake."

"Everyone makes mistakes," he says. "If you have to blame it on someone, then blame it on me. I was the one who broke the formation and gave our opponent a chance to attack!"

"But you broke it because of me! You wouldn't have broken it if it wasn't for me! It was ALL me!" I yell furiously. My free hand turn into a shaking fist. "The mistake I made cost the life of a comrade, an eye of my lover, my left arm, ... and my child."

Kakashi loosens his grip. He didn't know about that last part. I never told him. "What child?"


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

I wipe my tears and look at him in the eyes and sob as I choke out the words. "Our child."

"I was pregnant, but I didn't tell anyone. Do you understand why it was my fault now? I shouldn't have accepted the mission knowing that I was pregnant. It was risky, but I went anyhow. It was an important mission and I thought it would increase the chance of failure if you guys had to adjust your style with my replacement," I pause to observe his reaction. I can't read his face. He is just staring at the floor, probably shocked. I pull my hand out from his. "But I was wrong. When I was knocked away, and hit the tree, my womb hurt. It started to bleed. I regretted at that very moment for coming."

Normally, being knocked away like that shouldn't have been a problem at all. But with the baby, I became a burden to my team. I continue to study his face. It remains expressionless.

" And you know the rest of the story," I stand up. I want to leave as soon as possible. Away from him. Away from this village. Away from the past. He remains in his position. He is not going to stop me anymore, because he has finally learned the truth. He has finally realized that I, Haki Makiko, the woman he, Hatake Kakashi, thought he loved, murdered his best friend, Uchiha Obito. He finally breaks the silence when I reach the door. "Why did you leave?"

Frustrated, I spin around. "Didn't you hear what I just said? Which part of that story didn't you understand? Even though you had Obito's eye implanted to replace the one you had lost, there was no way I could've redeemed myself! There still isn't. Plus, one of my arms was completely useless, I didn't want to be a burden to you."

"And you didn't tell me about the child…"

"I didn't want you to hate me any more than you already did," My tears find their way out quickly once again. "I had done enough damage already. If you had found out that I killed your child as well…." My voice trails off. I can't continue. My knees shakes uncontrollably. I have to leave this place. NOW!

"Silly girl," he chuckles. Confused, I look at him, finding him looking back at me intensely. "Who said I ever hated you? Who said you killed Obito? Who said I loved the child more than I loved you? Who said you were ever a burden? And even if you are," he pauses with a smile as he studies my face. "Who said I don't desire a burden like you?"

Damn Kakashi. Damn all his sweet talk. Damn his perfection. Even in the dark, his hair sparkles under the moonlight. His eye shines like a star that will lead me out from despair. I throw myself at him. I wrap my arms around him, so tightly as if we will merge into one. He returns the hug. I can feel our hearts beating hardly against each other. I don't ever want to let go…until I realize that he is sobbing in my hair.

"Eww! Get away from me!" I try pull away from him, but fail to escape the Jounin's arms.

"I won't let you go ever again. I pray every night that it was all a dream, that when I wake up the next morning, I'd see you next to me." he says. "My wish has finally come true."

I smile from the bottom of my sweetened heart, but it fades quickly when I hear what he says next: "But you did lose my child."

"However," he continues. "You can redeem yourself for making me another one." He grins slyly behind his mask, and he's now on top of me on his bed. My reaction time has definitely decreased. I didn't even see how it happened, but I THINK he threw me down.

"But you just woke up from co-" I protest, but is cut off by his lips. I didn't even see him take off his mask. He kisses me hungrily. I return the kiss. The familiar taste of his lips makes me realize how much I miss it. Drops of tears continue to flow from my eyes. Unlike the ones before, these are happy ones. He sure recovers quickly. _Many things have changed in the past five years._ He's now kissing my cheek, moving toward my left ear. _But one thing sure hasn't:_ "You are still in love with that _Icha Icha Paradise_, aren't you?"

His teeth let go of my earlobe and whispers with a smile, "No, I've been reading _Icha Icha Violence_."

Oh, crap.

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@/ THE END @/  
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A/N: This is my first fanfic. Hope you enjoyed it. I love the idea of KakaIru, but I would like it more if he is heterosexual.  
Thanks for all the reviews. Again, I don't even know if Obito is a Uchiha, who posessed a Sharingan. But it fits for now, so don't kill me when it turns out that he's not.


End file.
